Scammers At It Again

Sheldon, Iowa — An alert employee at Hy-Vee in Sheldon kept a local business owner from being fleeced in a utility scam.

According to Sheldon Police, a Sheldon business owner almost fell for the Mid-American Energy scam.

Police say the business owner received a call, purportedly from MidAmerican Energy, that their bill was delinquent and that a technician was on the way to the business to disconnect their power.

When the business owner told the scammer that they had paid their Mid-American Energy bill, they were told that their payment must have gone to the wrong address or to the wrong account. When the intended victim called the number back, they got a recording that they had reached Mid-American Energy, but, police say, that was a pre-recorded message that is part of the scam.

Police say the business owner was instructed to get a money-pak card from Hy-Vee, load money onto it, and call the number back to avoid having their power turned off. Upon arriving at Hy-Vee and attempting to purchase the card, an alert employee told them it was a scam and stopped the transaction from happening.